First of all, the $20 travel charger kit I bought before I left doesn't have a converter than allows for American three pronged devices, only two pronged, so I was essentially without a computer until a few days ago, when I found a universal converter/adapter for about 18RMB (which is like) (3USD) (so in case you were wondering about the markup on electronic goods: IT'S HIGH). BUT, now I have use of my computer so I can actually post to this blog!
Second of all, I'm living in a hotel until Sept. 5th (and hopefully not any longer than that), so I haven't set up any sort of permanent mailing address yet. Which maybe isn't relevant to you, dear reader, but there are some things I had to leave at home that I would love to have shipped to me right about now, so it's on my mind a lot.
Now, basics:
I teach at the Duncan Dance Academy, which has two locations. One is at the Shenzhen Bay Sports Complex.
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| Pretty neat view, huh? |
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| (click for full view) |
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| distant shot to show just how massive this place is |
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| Donghai lobby |
I teach at Shenzhen Bay three days a week and at Donghai for two. I have Wednesdays and Thursdays off, and I really don't teach more than three hours a day (except for Saturday, when I have five classes).
At Donghai, there's a balcony that opens up from the main hallway, and it has an incredible view of the city!
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| Mountains in the distance makes me feel at home :) (even if the weather makes me feel like dying) |
I really wanted to get pictures like this to really show off how green Shenzhen is. It's a huge, modern city with skyscrapers everywhere, but they're so spread out that it doesn't feel overwhelming! The streets are super wide, and there's not one I've been on yet that doesn't have at least some kind of plant life lining it. It's the strangest, most wonderful fusion of a big city and a tropical resort I've ever seen.
A lot of this has to do with the fact that Shenzhen is an incredibly new city; before the 80s, it basically didn't exist. It became a hub for foreign investment when the Chinese government made it a "Special Economic Zone," and boy howdy the money shows.
Speaking of money, I had to set up a Chinese bank account, which I did with the help of one of my coworkers, and she took me to The Bank (the headquarters of the Chinese Merchant Bank).
But I'm calling it The Bank.
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| (you can see why) |
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| bruh |
I also got a Chinese phone plan and an overall health evaluation! My company is currently in the process of submitting my business visa application (I came here on a tourist visa) and finding me an apartment. I believe the plan is to put me in one that another teacher currently has, but she hasn't moved out yet, haha.
I'm going to be giving a presentation on Duncan dance within a week, and I'm showing a piece of my own choreography (in the Duncan style) on Saturday. So I've been busy!
Stay tuned~
